NextEnergy provides an exciting new engine for economic development in Michigan, building on the state’s ongoing commitment to establish national leadership in the development of alternative and renewable energy.
Key pieces of this are already in place. Michigan has created economic development "SmartZones" and invested millions of dollars toward this goal. State and local economic develop groups across the state are welcoming new opportunities with customized packages of incentives to attract new businesses and investment.
At the center of this activity is NextEnergy, leading Michigan into the future as a national hub for business investment in this rapidly expanding industry, and actively attracting new businesses and new jobs to the state.
And the strategy is succeeding. Already NextEnergy has acquired millions of dollars in new federal funding for Michigan-based research to advance alternative and renewable energy development. We have secured commitments for new business in Michigan from all over the world, leveraging our state-of-the-art laboratories, energy infrastructure, and business resources to generate millions of dollars in new investments and hundreds of new jobs.
Nationally, the industry is expanding at an extraordinary pace.
This year alone more than a billion dollars will be invested by venture capitalists in alternative energy opportunities throughout the United States, surging ahead of the telecommunication and medical categories, and now ranking third behind only biotech and software development.
Opportunity is knocking, and Michigan is poised to capitalize on this. NextEnergy can be the catalyst:
- Attracting hundreds of millions of dollars in growth and expansion capital to Michigan businesses and communities.
- Creating thousands of high-skilled, high-paying jobs in the state.
- Strengthening Michigan's economic security and environmental quality for our children and our future.
Just as importantly, NextEnergy will help to change the national conversation about Michigan, celebrating the state as a proven incubator for American innovation, and for providing new leadership as the United States negotiates this dramatic era.
Never has the opportunity been better for alternative and renewable energy to succeed. Never have consumers, industry and government been more open to them. Never have the economics and the marketplace been a stronger force to advance them.
Never has Michigan had more to gain.
We are NextEnergy. We improve lives by advancing alternative and renewable energy.
Help us to shape what's next.